Elite Men's Race Report: Virginia's Blue Ridge GO Cross Day 1
Report, quotes, and photos from Day 1 in Roanoke
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At this point, Bulletin readers and Media Pit listeners are more than well-versed in the concept of the finish before the finish. As if to drive that point home, when I reunited with Bill on the hill on Saturday, he pointed to the twisty section on the school overlooking the finish and said, “There’s the finish before the finish.”
Really, a perfect way to start the new cyclocross season.
Prior to the weekend, Bill put together a compilation of Elite Men’s finishes from Virginia’s Blue Ridge GO Cross and spoiler alert, they included a ton of sprint finishes. Yes, those sprints often involved Kerry Werner, but they really showed that the men have struggled to get away from each other at GO Cross.
A good chance for group racing. A finish before the finish. Sprint finishes. Y’all know where this is going.
Belgian Anton Ferdinande tried his hardest to make it a solo afternoon, driving a hard pace in the first two laps, but when a group of Ferdinande, Loris Rouiller, Vincent Baestaens, Curtis White, and Andrew Strohmeyer formed, it was apparent the group was the group.
“I felt really strong, and I was going almost 100 percent the first 30 minutes because I was thinking maybe the group would get smaller,” Ferdinande said.
The group of international riders entered the bell lap together, and then things got lit with everyone knowing the exact spot on the course they were all trying to arrive at first.
Strohmeyer attacked early, Rouiller countered. Then Strohmeyer attacked again, setting himself up to win the sprint to the finish before the finish. Rouiller, sitting second wheel, had just a few more watts and won the climb up to the entrance to a series of hillside turns.
When he dropped onto the short finishing straight with two bike lengths on Strohmeyer, the die was cast.
“I knew with the technical parts at the end, it was not possible to win if you are not first. I had to push, push, push at my maximum so I'd be first today, and it was perfect today.”
Proper GO Cross Vibes
This is not necessarily true about every cyclocross course, but there are definitely those courses out there that lend themselves to a certain kind of racing. In the case of the Elite Men’s field and GO Cross, the course definitely lends itself to group racing.
Back in the day, it featured the epic battles between Kerry Werner and Curtis White. Last year, it was Eric Brunner against Vincent Baesatens.
With a new cast of Europeans racing this year, Curtis White getting those Stars-and-Stripes watts, and the door open for one of the young guns to step into the fore, chances were good Saturday’s group would be more than just a duo.
White got things started by taking the holeshot, but then Belgian Anton Ferdinande quickly pulled around him to take over pace-making duties. Ferdinande stayed on the gas well into the first lap, which created an early split of Ferdinande, White, Loris Rouiller, Vincent Baestaens, Caleb Swartz, and Andrew Strohmeyer.
Ferdinande stayed on the front well into the second lap before finally giving way to Baestaens on the final climb of Lap 2.
Perhaps because he was unfamiliar with the GO Cross vibe, Ferdinande’s efforts were for a reason.
“I was hoping we would get down to two or three guys, but it was five or six. It is not easy with five or six guys. You are not sure about the podium. You can be the strongest, but if you’re fifth in the last corner, you are fifth at the finish line.”
After following the early move, Strohmeyer fell back as the first lap progressed and found himself back in 6th with Jack Spranger and Marcis Shelton early in Lap 2. Strohmeyer, to his credit, bridged up by the time the leaders reached the sand, again making it a group of six.
Strohmeyer gave some indication that he was feeling good despite the somewhat slow start when he attacked to the front on the climb at the beginning of Lap 3. Strohmeyer put time in on the front at races last season, but Saturday quickly felt different for the young rider.
“In the past couple of years, I was close, so the chances I had in the front group I'd go to the front if I could. Once I got in that front group, I felt really comfortable. I was able to go to the front and dictate the pace.”
Swartz is another rider who knows a thing or two about breakout C1 results after his 3rd-place finish at Rochester last September. His bid for an encore took a hit early on when he slipped out and dabbed on one of the dusty corners in the last third of Lap 3.
With the lead group starting to lull a bit, Swartz bridged back up early in Lap 4 at the sand pit. The lead group was again six riders.
The one rider who was not super keen on letting things lull was Strohmeyer.
Following up his Lap 3 move, Strohmeyer put in a dig on the opening climb of Lap 4. And then he did the same on the climb on the back side of the course. When he rode that late Lap 5 move into continuing Lap 6 pressure, Swartz finally fell off the pace, making it a group of 5 with 3 laps to go.
“I think everyone wanted to save their matches for the end, so there was a lot of attacking to see where guys were and then sitting up,” Strohmyer said. “I wanted to keep the race hard, so most of the times when they sat up, I attacked or went to the front to push them and see where they were at.”
Rouiller talked about the tactics for the afternoon. “Today was not the best day for always being on the front because there was also a lot of wind and a lot of fast sections. When you are second, you feel better. But for the corners, it is not the best when you are not first. It's good when you can go easy and drive your bike through the corners.”
Behind the leaders, Michael van den Ham helped lead the pony camp that included Jules van Kempen and Shelton in the battle for 7th.
About That Finish Before the Finish
With three laps to go in the nine-lap race the sitch was White, Strohmeyer, Rouiller, Baestaens, and Ferdinande at the front. Strohmeyer and Ferdinande had done a majority of the work, with White and Baestaens largely being coy in the group.
The race appeared to get a major shake-up at the start of Lap 7 when Rouiller lost the pace straight from the opening climb. Rouiller, however, was down, not out. He was able to bridge back up and rejoin the leaders on the top part of the course following the sand pit.
“For the head, it was very hard. You look dead, but in your head you know you are not dead, and you can, you can,” he said about his mentality in that moment.
The start of the penultimate lap lulled again. This time quite hard. The five leaders ascended the opening climb in slow motion and then continued to look around as the lap progressed. No one would be YOLOing at attack at this point and it was going to come down to that last lap.
“My plan to was to try to go alone before the end, but I was not able to do that,” Rouiller said. “It was four other guys who are also very strong. I quickly learned it was not possible to go alone.”
Things were set up for a killer last lap.
Spoiler alert, but Strohmeyer was the first to attack, charging up the opening climb of the bell lap. He stayed at the front until shortly before the sand when White finally made a big move to take the lead for perhaps the first time in the race.
At this point, Mr. USCX Baestaens was in trouble, dangling off the leaders.
Rouiller had the long sweeping off-camber totally dialed, so he made a big effort shortly before the feature to take over the lead. By riding the section a bit quicker than everyone else, he got a gap that he turned into an attack.
With Rouiller going for it, Strohmeyer stepped up to chase him down through the stairs and up and over the flyover. Not content to just close the gap, Strohmeyer took the lead shortly after the barriers. He was in the lead just one hill and a few corners before that vaunted finish-before-the-finish climb.
“I knew Loris was going to go to the front on the big off-camber turn,” Strohmeyer said. “A few laps before, he really wanted to lead through that section because he was really fast through there. I knew he was going to go to the front, and I wasn't going to fight him for that but I knew I had to follow him.”
The much-discussed finish before the finish was a long climb up to the acme of school hill that served as the opening climb for the course last season. Once riders crested the top, what followed was a series of technical hillside turns with little to no room to pass.
Everyone knew it. Said Ferdinande, “You have to be riding first in that last section, otherwise you cannot win the race.”
And Rouiller, “I knew with the technical parts at the end, it was not possible to win if you are not first.”
And why not, Strohmeyer too, “I knew it was whoever made it to the top of that hill first.”
White knew as well, and the current U.S. National Champ made a move on the outside of the corner entering the final epic climb. Unfortunately for White, Rouiller was one wheel closer to the front and he had the exact same idea. Rouiller’s move around Strohmeyer cut White off, ending his hopes of taking the win.
Rouiller’s jump proved to be the decisive move.
Said Strohmeyer, “Right on the last hill, he had the most watts and was able to go to the front.”
Rouiller popped onto the finishing pavement with a few bike lengths and he held on to take the win in the sprint.
“You cannot always have your choice when you are not alone, so I am happy it worked out perfect for me,” he reflected.
Ferdinande hit the pavement in 3rd, but he pulled around Strohmeyer in the sprint to take 2nd.
“It was my first race of the season, so there was a little bit of, Am I good? Am I not good? You're looking for a good feeling on the bike. It was good for a first race. It was very hot, but I had some water and ice and everything. I felt really strong, and hopefully tomorrow I can take the win.”
Strohmeyer came away with 3rd, but he was still pretty happy with a podium finish on a course he knows well.
“I was thinking yesterday, this is six years. The sixth year I've done this race. Every year since my first year in 17-18. Just coming back here year after year and slowly getting better means a lot to me. And all these people I know coming out and watching and me being able to show what I can do in front of them was pretty cool.”
Last year’s USCX winner White took 4th and Mr. USCX Baestaens rounded out the wide-angle podium in 5th.
Swartz held on for 6th, and Van Kempen won the race for 7th.
Results are below.
Make Trek Cup plans, I did see Brunner was reg’d for that race, at least.
Related, is Brunner racing cross this year? What about Honsinger? Also other riders west of the Mississippi? I realize we're just one race weekend in, but after this weekend and looking at Rochester start lists, I'm wondering if the US ProCX series isn't quite the draw that it was designed to be?